A Burntwood councillor has been suspended from the Conservative group at Staffordshire County Council.
It comes after concerns were raised over a funding application before Cllr Thomas Loughbrough-Rudd’s election from a business belonging to him.
The Climate Action Fund offers a maximum of £2,500 to organisations working on environmental projects across the region. No details have been revealed over the sums allocated in Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd’s case.
A spokesperson for the controlling Conservative group at Staffordshire County Council told Lichfield Live:
“Ambition with the climate change fund was to make it easy and accessible so the governance around it was light touch – however, we have discovered it was perhaps a little too light touch.
“We are now undertaking steps to rectify this.
“Some concerns were raised about money Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd applied for before he became a councillor.
“Pending those enquiries and discussions with the monitoring officer, Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd is suspended from the Conservative group at Staffordshire County Council.”
Staffordshire County Council Conservative group spokesperson
Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd is currently listed as the sole director of Nature Nuturing CIC with Companies House, which is also outlined on his register of interests at the county council.
The company is listed as carrying out activities for the elderly and disabled and supporting performing arts, as well as undertaking activities linked to sport and botanical and zoological gardens.
The business was incorporated in July 2020, but no confirmation statement for the community interest company was made by the deadline in August this year, meaning the company is now listed to be struck off and dissolved.
Cllr Loughbrough-Rudd – who is also a member of Burntwood Town Council – has been approached for comment.
